Your Highness, Please Love Me Tender

19. Pendant Taken Away

Translator: Flying Lines

Su Jie rubbed his disheveled hair out of annoyance. As a member of the Men of Sacrifice for Prince Qin, he had been prescribed medicated baths to cultivate his bodily tolerance to poisons. However, those medicated baths worked for all other Men of Sacrifice except him who, after every bath, would be weak as a dying man for nearly half a month. Helpless, those doctors had to give up on him, as a result, he was susceptible to all kinds of poisons. Su Jie had always been careful with food, testing everything with a special silver needle before eating them. However, ever since he came here, he had to forbear to do so because as Wen Nianxuan the Jianghu boy, doing so would arouse unnecessary suspicion.

The night before was a near-death experience for him. Though now living in Prince Rui’s house, he was by no means a pushover. He would never let those who threatened his life off. For him, both kindness and hatred needed to be repaid. That was to say, if he could find hard evidence to show that Prince Xian did this to him, then they were sworn enemies.

Poisoning Su Jie was probably the worst choice Xiao ShengXian had ever made. Su Jie was never a meek sheep that would swallow it all, he was a wolf concealing all his sharpness. Difficulties and blows wouldn’t intimidate or discourage him; instead, they would bring out the toughness and fierceness in him.

Xiao ShengNian probably had guessed that Su Jie would figure out who had poisoned him soon or later, so he warned him, “Xiaonu, don’t forget that I’m providing a temporary shelter for you. Here in my mansion, you have to behave yourself and know your place. Don’t offend my ninth brother ever again.”

Xiao ShengNian’s words aimed to warn Su Jie to behave but also to some extent confirmed Su Jie’s speculation. Su Jie lowered his head, looking like a tame kitten.

“I’ll be away for a few days.” Seeing Su Jie’s obedience, Xiao ShengNian thought his warning worked, put on his robe, and took Su Jie’s jade pendant while saying with absolute authority in his tone, “I’ll keep this for you.”

Su Jie was shocked and involuntarily wanted to refuse. The pendant was the only thing his parents had left for him, which he valued even more than his own life. He had been wearing it the whole time, even in his sleep. Now being taken away by force was a huge blow to him. And the worst thing was, he couldn’t raise any objection because for a man of such high status as Xiao ShengNian, the last thing he would tolerate was to be refuted or refused.

Xiao ShengNian was about to order the servants to prepare him bath water when he turned around and saw Su Jie in a devastated state staring blankly at the jade pendant hanging at his waist. For an instant, Xiao ShengNian had this strange feeling that he had done something wrong.

Brows slightly knitted, he said in a somewhat speechless tone, “Don’t worry. I’m just borrowing it for a couple days. I promise I’ll give it back to you.”

That explanation was the biggest concession Xiao ShengNian the prince had ever made. Never once had he cared about a boy’s feelings to such extent. And it was all because of the pattern on this jade pendant.

Su Jie, though still worried about the fate of his jade pendant, didn’t say anything. It felt bad when the precious he had been cherishing all these years was suddenly taken away. With a heavy heart, he put on his clothes and began to tidy the bed while Xiao ShengNian said, “Just leave such things to Yu Jiang.”